Elder Scrolls Online Showcased at E3

Up until now, all of the information about The Elder Scrolls Online has been straight from Game Informer’s exclusive coverage last month. Today, though, Paul Sage, the creative director at ZeniMax Online Studios, stopped by the GameTrailers studio at E3 to answer questions about the upcoming MMO.

Paul stated that the project is an answer to fan pleas that the Elder Scrolls series should be multiplayer. Though no in-game footage was shown for the title, Paul said the developers of the title have taken away a lot of the traditional mmo interface, presumably to allow players to see the scenery of in the game. He also mentioned that Health, stamina, and magicka bars are a part of the game. “It’s really dynamic feeling.” said Paul. “It’s a really great game.”

The leveling experience in an MMO takes a long time by design. For many players this can be the most frustrating part of an MMO, since many quests along the way are similar to ones already accomplished. Paul stated that The Elder Scrolls Online will operate differently, and try to break out of the fairly linear questing system most modern MMOs employ. Players will be encouraged to wander around the landscape, seeking adventure for themselves in true Elder Scrolls fashion. A compass, similar to the one seen in Skyrim, will direct players to content around Tamriel. There will also be quests that come to the player dynamically, instead of the player having to seek out a quest-giver. “You don’t have to go onto a quest path,” said Ryan. “You’re not on rails at all.”

One odd statement that Ryan made is that there can be up to 200 players “in the game at the same time.” This probably doesn’t mean a cap on the number of people allowed in one server. If that were the case, there would have to be thousands of individual servers, not to mention the fact that many established MMO guilds boast more than 200 members. Instead, Ryan is probably referring to the maximum number of players that will fit into one instance of the game.

Another teaser trailer for the game was showcased today at E3, which you can view below. Though it does not show any gameplay from The Elder Scrolls Online, it does a good job of highlighting the different factions and the traditional fantasy classes that Elder Scrolls games have used.

The first character pictured appears to be a Nord fighter surrounded by Dunmer, or Dark Elves. This could represent the Ebonheart Pact faction in the game, which is made up of Morrowind, Skyrim, and Black Marsh. The second character is an Altmer mage who probably represents the Aldmeri Dominion faction, which is made up of Valenwood, the Summerset Isles, and Elsweyr. The third character, though obviously the thief archetype, is a little more ambiguous. It could be a Breton or an Imperial, and doesn’t strictly appear to represent the game’s third faction, the Daggerfall Covenant, made up of High Rock and Hammerfell.